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Mama Coca - The Cocaine Warriors

October 13, 2015

Coca is really just a plant, but the cocaine obtained from it has caused an ongoing war with countless victims. The situation is at its worst in Colombia.

https://p.dw.com/p/1GNMN
02.10.2015 DW Doku Mama Coca Yanacuna Indianer

Cocaine is one of the most widely used drugs worldwide. It is also a hotly contested commodity for smugglers. A war between individual gangs, the military, left-wing guerrillas and paramilitary organizations has raged in Colombia for decades. The war is over coca plants, because anyone who has them in their possession also wields the power in a corrupt system.

02.10.2015 DW Doku Mama Coca Kokain schneiden
Colombia is one of the main producers and suppliers of cocaine worldwide

This two-part documentary takes us to a beautiful country that is ravaged by the trade in the white powder. It shows all sides of the conflict. A former guerilla tells us her side of the story, we talk to a taxi driver in a city which is badly affected by the conflict and a former drug dealer from Hamburg. The film describes how a nation has fallen prey to a war over a drug that is usually associated with the party crowd in affluent countries. However, for the Yanacuna Indians in San Agustín coca is an integral part of their religion. For them, banning coca plants would be tantamount to taking away their spirituality.

The different viewpoints provide an informative insight into this topic and the carefully researched images illustrate how volatile the current situation really is. Whether or not the legalization of coca, an issue that has been long debated, would solve the crisis is something the film cannot answer. But it asks the most important questions in an informative and bold manner.



Broadcasting Hours:

Part 1:

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Part 2:

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Delhi UTC +5,5 | Bangkok UTC +7 | Hong Kong UTC +8
London UTC +0 | Berlin UTC +1 | Moscow UTC +3
San Francisco UTC -8 | Edmonton UTC -7 | New York UTC -5

DW (Amerika)

SUN 01.11.2015 – 09:15 UTC

Vancouver UTC -8 | New York UTC -5 | Sao Paulo UTC -2

02.10.2015 DW Doku Mama Coca Militär
The drug war has claimed thousands of victims. Countless people have disappeared. They were either kidnapped for many years or died at the hands of their abductors.
02.10.2015 DW Doku Mama Coca Coca Pflücken
Coca leaves are sacred to the Yanacuna Indians. They use them in rituals including sacrificial ceremonies and in traditional medicine.